Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue II, 2016 | Page 14

MULTI

BRAND

One Brand Beyond
Multi-brand stars keep on shining

A

BY KERRY PIPES AND EDDY GOLDBERG

nyone who’s operated a franchise business knows it
takes a lot of hard work to attain (and maintain) a
high level of success and profitability. Life changes
dramatically with expansion from 1 or 2 to 5 or 10
units and beyond, with new challenges presenting themselves
at each stage of growth.
Multi-brand franchising, a growing trend for some
time, has many important advantages, most notably diversification, which spreads risk across different geographies,
industries, and economic cycles. Signing on with different
systems allows operators to learn from the best and apply those lessons across different brands, and many thrive
on the stimulation and variety that working with several
brands provides.
We all know business is really about people—the
people who start businesses, the people who work in those
businesses, and the people who buy from those businesses.
That’s why each year we search long and hard to assemble
a unique group of multi-brand franchisees whose stories
are dynamic, engaging, and offer instructive models of
success.
This issue profiles eight hard-working, dedicated
multi-unit operators representing small to large organizations. Their stories are unique, yet have common threads:
a passion for great products and concepts, a customerdriven focus, an eagerness to provide jobs and opportunities to their employees, and a burning passion to grow
their business and support their communities.
FRANdata has been supplying us with data on multibrand franchising for 9 years now. Their list of the 50
largest multi-brand franchisees in the U.S. begins on
page 60, along with a list of the 25 most popular brands.
Here’s a preview of what you’ll discover in the following
pages:
• Brent Collier loves tourists—at least the ones who
eat in one of his 16 restaurants, located strategically along
a 25-mile stretch in East Tennessee featuring attractions
ranging from Dollywood to Gatlinburg to Great Smoky
Mountains National Park. The area draws about 15 million visitors annually, and Collier estimates that one in
three ring up a tab at one of his restaurants each year.

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• Mills Sinclair spent two decades in the financial industry before serendipity and an eye for an opportunity
led him into franchising in the form of Abby’s Pizza, a 36unit chain in the Northwest he acquired in 1988. Today
he also is a franchisee of Golden Corral and Sonic DriveIn and likes to own the land beneath his restaurants.
• Jesse and Charles Keyser, 39 and 35, are brothers
who bring a sibling harmony to their franchise operation.
They’ve parlayed their mutual respect and complementary strengths into a business that now includes Sport Clips,
Little Caesars, and Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning, leveraging
their youth, energy, and social media savvy into a $10 million business.
• Brian Smith has been in the franchised restaurant
business for 26 years. Today the former Subway franchisee operates 11 Popeyes and recently signed on with
Captain D’s to build (hold your breath!) 50 restaurants by
2026. He also sells rural land for Mossy Oak Properties in
Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma. When he’s not working,
he loves to spend time on his farm.
• Bryan Scott, who spent a decade in the NFL as a
linebacker, always knew there would be life after football.
After hanging up the pads, he wasted no time getting into
Title Boxing Club as a franchisee. He has two locations
open and plans for five more. Additionally, he is co-owner of Noene USA, which sells a line of high-tech, ultra
shock-absorbing insoles.
• Michael Knobelock was no stranger to multibrand franchising when we first profiled him in 2010.
He’s also no stranger to expansion. Since we last visited,
he has added Captain D’s and Sears Appliance & Hardware stores to his arsenal of brands, which also includes
Church’s Chicken, Little Caesars, and his own full-service seafood and steakhouse restaurant, Dekker’s Mesquite Grill.
• Jerry Heath was busy with his Hungry Howie’s locations and had just gotten into the Jimmy John’s brand
when we profiled him in 2010. Since then he’s more than
doubled his Jimmy John’s locations to 12, with 2 more set
to open this spring, and has been busy remodeling and relocating his Hungry Howie’s units.

MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEE IS S UE II, 2016

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